Backscatter Backlash
A training session on the new "backscatter" x-ray scanner at Florida's Miami International Airport on May 4 didn't go too well.
The machines strip away soft items like clothing so security screeners can see whether the passenger is carrying weapons.
Um, strip away clothing? Yep: the screener can see outlines of body parts under the passengers' clothing, as shown in the sample training image to the right. Homeland Security officials have promised that screeners will be totally separate from the person being screened so they can't compare outward appearance to the more revealing images. That doesn't seem to be the case in the Miami training sessions, though.
There, says Rolando Negrin, 44, a TSA security screener, a supervisor in the training session made fun of size of his genitalia. He allegedly confronted a co-worker later, in a parking lot, hitting his colleague with a police baton. Negrin (which NBC News also spells "Negron") "then told victim to kneel down and say 'your sorry,'" as the resulting police report puts it. "Victim stated he was in fear and complied with him."
When he arrived for work the next day Negrin was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. He told police "he could not take the jokes anymore and lost his mind." Negrin is wearing his TSA uniform shirt in his mug shot.
The news writer at NBC News' Miami affiliate couldn't help but to pile on, saying the incident was over a "suspicious package" and that Negrin was jailed over a "junk joke" -- and noting the scanners are "bad news for less-than-average men."
Even though we're fine with ridiculing stupid TSA procedures, we have some sympathy for Negrin. But, of course, that comes from the security of knowing we're, um, way-above-average in the junk department.
Source: NBC News Miami
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Posted by Bob in Illinois on May 30, 2010:
To Shawnee, Wapiti, WY
I understand what you are saying, I am a large man myself, 6 foot 2 and about 285 lbs, I poke fun at myself all the time. However he didn't do that and there obviously is not that kind of working environment there and I don't think there should be. This is a professional work area and they should act accordingly, comments of any kind not initiated by the subject are just insults and inappropriate in the work place. A supervisor that engages in this kind of harassment should be discharged with cause. I still remember jokes that guys used to say about some of the girls they dated. Some involved a long 2x4 tied to the guys back side and the sound of the guys voice echoing, another one involved using diving gear and a flashlight so the guy does not get lost. There is also the one about the school slut. Take a pick I'm sure there is one out there that could make you feel self-conscious.
As for the reporters personally I think they should be bitch slapped and I would happily volunteer to dish it out.
Posted by Mike from Dallas on June 3, 2010:
I dunno, on the surface, I can feel some sympathy for Negrin as the remarks he was subjected to were really unprofessional and inappropriate. But on the other hand, I don't support physical violence over perceived insults.
My own reaction in such a situation would have been to wonder, out loud so that everyone could hear, just WHY the co-worker was so fascinated with other men's packages in the first place. (After all, what does it say about the co-worker's self-esteem that he found it necessary to comment on someone else's endowment?)
Personally, I think both should have faced sanctions. But then, both are also exemplary examples of all that's wrong with TSA from the top down (including the head of DHS).
Posted by Bob in Illinois on June 8, 2010:
To Mike from Dallas:
I agree with you about the WONDER OUTLOUD part except that was his supervisor and I am sure that he would have caught flack for it. I re-read the article and it sounds like this was going on for some time and was not a one-time thing. People can only put up with harassment for so long before they just crack. Anyone that knows how the government works it is very slowly. Even if he filed a complaint it most likely take several weeks if not months before they would even investigate it by then it would still be too late.